I hope Johnson makes it to the PS - it was just a dig on some of the guys who were pretty high on him during otas. I like the kid but I got labeled as a hater because I wasn't as optimistic as some. Long boring off-season and this stuff tends to happen.

You weren't called a hater, you were just too quick to write him off because of his draft status.

Looks like Quinn is about to suffer the same fate here shortly. He'll probably get a second chance in TC and that's it.

Team has reportedly been very impressed by Quinn, for what it's worth._________________

DCRED wrote:

Your dialogue was amazing and your facts presented were Stellar.
You give yourself and your team's forum great Honor.

I hope Johnson makes it to the PS - it was just a dig on some of the guys who were pretty high on him during otas. I like the kid but I got labeled as a hater because I wasn't as optimistic as some. Long boring off-season and this stuff tends to happen.

You weren't called a hater, you were just too quick to write him off because of his draft status.

Looks like Quinn is about to suffer the same fate here shortly. He'll probably get a second chance in TC and that's it.

Team has reportedly been very impressed by Quinn, for what it's worth.

that's not what tooki (field gulls) said. I haven't seen one positive report on Quinn, they just like his experience. We'll see come training camp_________________

I hope Johnson makes it to the PS - it was just a dig on some of the guys who were pretty high on him during otas. I like the kid but I got labeled as a hater because I wasn't as optimistic as some. Long boring off-season and this stuff tends to happen.

You weren't called a hater, you were just too quick to write him off because of his draft status.

Looks like Quinn is about to suffer the same fate here shortly. He'll probably get a second chance in TC and that's it.

Team has reportedly been very impressed by Quinn, for what it's worth.

that's not what tooki (field gulls) said. I haven't seen one positive report on Quinn, they just like his experience. We'll see come training camp

That's the Field Gulls link that I was talking about. The author was at the Seahawks Mini Camp.

Quote:

- Brady Quinn made one throw that looked okay, but for the most part, struggled to let go of the football, and didn't appear to be processing information with any real rapidness. And yes, I did text Davis and Danny - "Someone call T-Jack!" - during practice and sure enough, someone seems to have done just that. I'm assuming the phone call that John Schneider took mid-way through practice may have had something to do with fixing the back-up QB spot.

The praise that I have read towards Brady Quinn has only focused upon his work in the film room and his veteran knowledge. I am yet to read anything positive about his arm.

Now that T-Jack has signed with the team, I'm keen to see how Pete directs his praise towards Quinn now.

“In the situation he’s in, he’s been next to perfect,” Carroll said. “He has worked like crazy. He knows exactly what we’re asking of him. He’s a tremendous guy in the meeting rooms, on the practice field, and supporting Russell’s efforts to figure it out. And he’s competed really well. He’s had a plenty of looks, and he’s done a good job for us.”

Pretty bland coach-speak._________________

DCRED wrote:

Your dialogue was amazing and your facts presented were Stellar.
You give yourself and your team's forum great Honor.

“In the situation he’s in, he’s been next to perfect,” Carroll said. “He has worked like crazy. He knows exactly what we’re asking of him. He’s a tremendous guy in the meeting rooms, on the practice field, and supporting Russell’s efforts to figure it out. And he’s competed really well. He’s had a plenty of looks, and he’s done a good job for us.”

Pretty bland coach-speak.

Carroll is known for his high praise

Quote:

“He did a nice job running the club and was able to give us a little expertise out there,” coach Pete Carroll said of Johnson. “He’s got a very good arm, can really gun the football down the field. He’s got a presence and he’s such a big guy in the pocket. He’s bright and he’s handled stuff really well.”

SEATTLE, Wash. -- The hip-hop music finally had stopped thumping last week when an assortment of giddy corporate sponsors strolled toward the entrance to the Seattle Seahawks' locker room. The team was wrapping up its first day of an offseason minicamp, but the fun was only beginning for everybody in attendance. A small boy wearing a Russell Wilson jersey dashed onto the field to film a segment with players for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hosts from a local radio affiliate sat down to conduct interviews. With players casually walking off the practice field, nobody was racing to find the valet who had parked their cars outside the team's training facility a couple hours earlier.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll confidently strode through this scene wearing a red scarf with the words "USA vs. Panama" etched across the front. He was on his way to watch those teams play a soccer match across town that evening, so Carroll told a nearby reporter, "I'm making a strong political statement." The irony was that Carroll probably hadn't heard that another NFL head coach was playing politics and sending more potent messages about 800 miles south of Seattle that same afternoon. They were the type that could easily sour his good mood.

To understand how intense the rivalry between the 49ers and Seahawks has become, all you have to know is what San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh said in response to a question about five Seattle players who have been suspended for using banned substances since 2011. Along with saying he "definitely noticed" what had been happening with the Seahawks, Harbaugh added that "you always want to be above reproach, especially when you're good, because you don't want people to come back and say, 'They're winning because they're cheating.'"

Those comments rankled the Seahawks; cornerback Brandon Browner told a local radio station that if Harbaugh were lining up against him after making such a statement, "I'd put my hands around his neck." But they were only more fodder in what has suddenly become the NFL's best rivalry. "I don't like using the word 'hate,' but it's definitely like a heavyweight fight when we play each other," 49ers Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis said. "We're not throwing little jabs that barely hurt. We're trying to knock each other out."

The issues between the 49ers and Seahawks largely exist because of what has happened over the past 12 months. First, there were the games. San Francisco earned a hard-fought 13-6 Week 7 win before being blown out 42-13 in Seattle in Week 16. Even though San Francisco won its second consecutive NFC West title -- and eventually reached the Super Bowl -- those contests served notice about where this series was heading. The first game let the 49ers know the Seahawks were legitimate threats. The second allowed the Seahawks to see just how devastating they could be when everything was clicking.

If those games weren't enough to increase the drama, both teams have helped fuel the rivalry through the media. Harbaugh openly complained about the physical play of Browner and fellow Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman after the first game, telling CSNBayArea.com that those players should have been penalized for illegal contact several times. Yahoo! Sports also reported that Seahawks players were miffed that Harbaugh supposedly waved at them mockingly after that game, a move that made their blowout victory in the rematch all the more satisfying. San Francisco linebacker NaVorro Bowman also threw a log on the fire in April, when he told NFL.com:"I think people like the next best thing. I think people like seeing the challenger get close to the best. ... You have to earn these things. This is their first time being mentioned like that [as a championship contender], in this sentence, and we'll see what they'll do with that."

There actually have been enough comments flying back and forth between the camps lately that the teams have resorted to an even more telling indication of how much they don't like each other: They've tried to be more politically correct. When asked about the rivalry, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor said, "It's just two good teams facing off against each other twice a year." Niners tight end Vernon Davis downplayed the drama by claiming, "I've never looked at it as a rivalry. I just see it as competing." Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, who spent four years in San Francisco, said, "I think every team we play in the NFC West is a hard game. This division is starting to get respect for how tough it is."

These are the statements players make when they know even the most innocent remark can be blown up into bulletin board material. The words reek of stern warnings and savvy public relations coaching, and they run counter to the very nature of both teams. The main reason the 49ers and Seahawks have built such a hearty rivalry is becausethey are practically mirror images of each other. They've both built themselves up as hard-nosed, tough-minded squads that won't back down from anybody.

In 2012, both teams ranked in the top five in rushing offense (Seattle was third, San Francisco fourth) and total defense (the 49ers were third, the Seahawks fourth) while relying heavily on young, talented quarterbacks (the 49ers' Colin Kaepernick and the Seahawks' Wilson). "I like their style," Carroll said. "They're coached well and they play like it. They run the ball well. They play good defense. They have a strong kicking game. We have a similar approach to doing things and I think it's a great way to play football. People have changed around the league because a lot of people like throw it, but [being physical] still works for us."

Unlike most NFL rivalries with some sex appeal -- namely Ravens-Steelers, Cowboys-Redskins and Bears-Packers -- the genesis of the 49ers-Seahawks enmity can be traced back to the college level, specifically a Southern California-Stanford game in 2009. The Trojans were a national power at that point, having won two national championships under Carroll's guidance (the NCAA later stripped the school of its 2004 title in the wake of violations). The Cardinal were trying to enjoy their first winning season under Harbaugh while seeking their second win over USC in his first three years as their head coach.

Harbaugh already had made some news a couple of years earlier when he told reporters that he'd "heard" Carroll would only be at USC for one more season. But everybody in the college football world noticed what happened when Stanford beat USC by the score of 55-21 in that 2009 contest. Harbaugh attempted a 2-point conversion late in the game despite leading by a considerable margin. Carroll responded by shaking Harbaugh's hand after the game and asking, "What's your deal?" Though Harbaugh responded with the same question before jogging off, the message had been sent. If Carroll didn't like the results, he needed to find a way to win the next time out. As it turned out, Carroll would leave USC after that season, not facing Harbaugh again until both were in their current jobs.

"You're talking about two head coaches, but you're also talking about human beings here," Davis said. "When they're competing against each other, I'm sure there are some chips on their shoulders because of what happened when they were in college."

Harbaugh brought that same tenacity to the NFL when the 49ers hired him in 2011, and it has created similar problems for him at times. The most notable moment came in his first season, when Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz angrily chased and confronted Harbaugh after a 49ers' win. It's still a mystery as to what Harbaugh said during the postgame handshake to set off Schwartz, but there's no doubting the opinions that resulted from it. Harbaugh, for better or worse, has a way of rubbing opponents the wrong way.

Some of that comes from his ultracompetitive nature. The rest comes from his legendary quirkiness. This is a man who, as an Indianapolis Colts quarterback, once attacked Hall of Fame quarterback and then-broadcaster Jim Kelly for questioning Harbaugh's toughness. When Harbaugh took over at Stanford, he was so eager to harden the school's image that he flirted with the idea of calling the school's stadium "The House of Pain." Harbaugh even vomited once while running training camp sprints in his first head coaching job at the University of San Diego. He wanted to show his players how far they needed to push themselves to succeed.

Carroll, on the other hand, has built his reputation on energy, charisma and an impressive resolve of his own. He was bounced out of two NFL head coaching jobs (the New York Jets and New England Patriots) before he rebuilt USC into a national power. By the time he hit the college level, Carroll had been turned off by how closed-minded professional owners could be to a coach who had his own unique style of leading a team. Carroll, a Bay Area native, is "California cool" personified, a man who cherishes the Grateful Dead as much as he loves creating intricate defenses and bonding with his players.

The only reason Carroll returned to the NFL in 2010 was because Seattle owner Paul Allen was willing to give him the power to run the franchise any way he saw fit. With the assistance of general manager John Schneider, Carroll overhauled the Seattle roster in his first year and won the NFC West with a 7-9 record. After winning seven games again in 2011, the Seahawks broke out last season. "The end of last year was when things really changed for us," said Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate. "We brought in some big-time talent and you could tell that people were finally expecting us to win. We always knew we could be this good, but now the rest of the world sees it as well."

Most importantly, the 49ers have witnessed that growth up close and personal. They know what it's like to be a young team trying to find its way, because that's exactly what they were before Harbaugh led them to a higher level. They had obvious talent that underachieved under former head coach Mike Singletary. They know how precious it is to be on top in a league where players change teams continually and windows of opportunities don't stay open for long.

The Seahawks, though they are loath to admit this, also understand that their road to a championship winds directly through San Francisco. "When I came into the league [in 2007], Seattle was the team and then Arizona had its run," Willis said. "But it was different then because Seattle is far more physical now. They're a really good football team, but I also feel this division still belongs to us."

That might not be true for much longer. The most interesting aspect of Seattle's blowout win last season was something that didn't happen. With the Seahawks comfortably ahead late in the game, a number of people along the sideline implored Carroll to run the score up to 50 points, according to Yahoo! Sports. Carroll told the website that he had been "reminded" about how Harbaugh had embarrassed his team in that 2009 USC game. Carroll figured the proper message already had been sent to his division rival.

The only question that remains is how the teams will respond this season, especially now that the stakes are higher and the expectations have become greater. "This has always felt like an amped-up rivalry game for me," said 49ers left tackle Joe Staley. "It's just that now there will be more attention paid to it by everybody else."

At a time of year when there isn’t a lot of tangible news regarding the Seahawks, my mind often turns to the hypothetical. I have a bit of a pessimistic streak so when I speak about hypothetical situations what I’m usually getting at is apocalyptic level disasters. The Seahawks are clearly a good team and I have faith in the talent on the roster and in the front office. There is also enough depth on this team that it is hard to imagine any major disasters befalling the Seahawks in 2014. However, in a salary cap league it is impossible to be two deep at every position so today I thought I would look at the most indispensible players on the Seahawks roster.
There are two factors that come into play here. The first is the talent of the player in question and the second is the quality of their replacement. There are some very talented players that have been left out of my top 3 list below, such as Marshawn Lynch and Percy Harvin, through no fault of their own, because the Seahawks have strong depth at that particular position. Without further adieu, here are the players, in my humble opinion, who Seattle can least afford to lose in 2013:
1. Earl Thomas
Russell Wilson may be a demigod but it is my belief that an injury to Earl Thomas would be a more crushing blow to this team. Having just turned 24 Thomas is already a two-time Pro Bowl safety who is immensely important to this defense. Without Thomas patrolling center field Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner would be far less free to be aggressive at the line as both rely on Thomas for help over the top. The Seahawks can only have success with their bigger and slower corners due to Thomas’s ability to prevent plays over the top. Earl Thomas is essential to preventing big plays and plays the quietest, most essential role in the Legion of Boom which allows the other three members to be physical and do what they do best. Kam Chancellor does not have even close to the kind of range that Thomas does and spends a great deal of time near the line of scrimmage, putting even more pressure on the free safety. Richard Sherman may get the headlines but I think more of his success than he’d be willing to admit is predicated on the presence of Thomas.
In addition to Thomas’s vital important to the defense, he is also invaluable because he has no reliable backup. Chris Maragos is the only other free safety on the roster. Maragos has appeared exclusively on special teams and is utterly unproven as an NFL safety. Like Thomas he is fairly small (5-11 200lbs) but he doesn’t come close to Earl Thomas’s speed and range, mainly because virtually no safeties do. Perhaps he has some hidden talent but as a 26 year old with no professional experience at his position, and who went undrafted, my hopes are not high. The only positive is that he has been around the system for a couple of years but I doubt that is enough to prevent him from being the biggest drop off from the starter of any 2nd string player on the team.
2. Russell Wilson
Obviously the franchise quarterback was going to make an appearance on this list. Everyone is familiar with Wilson’s fantastic rookie year and his potential for growth as he only got better as 2012 went on. Wilson was a top 10 quarterback in 2012 and looked even better down the stretch. His running ability makes the offense more flexible and his accuracy makes it more efficient. Not only that but, now he has Percy Harvin to throw to. There is plenty more praise I could heap onto Wilson but at a certain point that gets repetitive. The man is good.
The only reason Wilson appears at number two on this list is the because he has a very competent backup this year. Earlier in the off-season I was very concerned about the prospect of Brady Quinn as the backup to Wilson but I am very pleased that the Seahawks went out and signed Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson is a below average starting quarterback, but a great backup. Pete Carroll knows he can win with Jackson, and this Seahawks could probably still be a wildcard threat with Tarvaris at the helm. The supporting cast on offense and the defense are both great and the reins of the offense could be turned over to Marshawn Lynch with Jackson as the role player quarterback. I think of the Seahawks as a Super Bowl contender and that wouldn’t be possible without Wilson but this team has the talent to be functional and above average with Jackson. It should be recalled that Jackson was 7-7 with a far worse squad in 2011 with a not awful passer rating of 79.2 and almost decent 6.9 yards per attempt.
3. Max Unger
After stumbling out of the gate slightly as a rookie, Unger has established himself as top center in the NFL. In 2012 Unger was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro and seems to be one of those players who makes those around him better. While the offensive line isn’t necessarily the strength of this team it would be hard to imagine how it would perform without him. Unger isn’t just one of those glue guys, he’s one of those glue guys who is actually good. He has started 31 of the last 32 games for the Seahawks and has gotten the better of his opponents in almost all of those games.
Not only is Unger a fantastic player, but he has a backup who isn’t really anything special. Lemeul Jeanpierre has mainly stuck with the Seahawks due to his versatility as opposed to some kind of latent talent ready to bloom. The guard/center did get some playing time in 2011 and did not acquit himself disastrously but the downgrade is significant.
Football is a violent game where every team is likely to experience significant losses in terms of injuries. The Seahawks are no exception and though I think the front office has done a fine job of building depth on this roster the three players I’ve listed above strike me as players they simply cannot afford to lose. That doesn’t mean that they are necessarily the best, not looking to slight Richard Sherman here as I know he wouldn’t appreciate that, they are just the most difficult to replace in my view. With some luck from the football gods Thomas, Wilson and Unger, all who have been relatively durable in the past (except for Unger’s lost 2010), will be kept from harm. If you want to be a Super Bowl contender there is very little margin for error and these are guys that Seattle needs.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson spent last week's minicamp doing what he usually does -- saying all the right things. He talked about the need to grow and expand on what he did in his impressive rookie season. He raved about his team's talented roster, one that now includes explosive wide receiver Percy Harvin. What Wilson didn't have to say, however, is something that should be all too obvious to anybody watching the NFL this year. Of all the young star quarterbacks coming off breakout seasons, he still has more to prove than any of his peers.

That might be hard to accept for the Seahawks fans who watched Wilson help their team earn an 11-5 record and an NFC wild-card spot. He went from being an unheralded third-round pick to a Pro Bowl alternate, all while throwing for 3,118 yards and 26 touchdowns. Wilson was so good that it's easy to wonder whether a sophomore slump is coming, even though he scoffs at the possibility. "I don't even know those words," Wilson told reporters last week. "I don't pay attention to it. I think the biggest thing is just focusing on tomorrow and focusing on the day."

Although such confidence is predictable, here are a few things to remember when considering how far Wilson has to go in his NFL experience. He hasn't faced nearly the scrutiny that Robert Griffin III has thrived under with the Washington Redskins. He didn't replace Peyton Manning and take a two-win team in 2011 to the postseason a year later, as Andrew Luck did. Wilson also didn't face the same pressure that San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick had thrust upon him midway through the 2012 season, when the 49ers benched Alex Smith and gave him the keys to a team that had reached the NFC Championship Game a year earlier.

What Wilson did was make the most of his opportunity, which was pretty amazing in its own right. He beat out a more experienced, higher-paid veteran (Matt Flynn) and entered last season facing as few expectations as the team around him. Wilson flew under the radar for at least half the year, while most people around the league slowly discovered how potent the Seahawks really were.

"I like the kid, but he also was playing with a top-five defense and a top-five running game," said one opposing quarterbacks coach. "It helps a lot when you don't have to throw the football 35 times a game."

Now Wilson gets to find out what life is like as a burgeoning superstar. It's a little different when you're taking snaps with that label attached to your back. Suddenly people don't rave about you when you're merely efficient and managing a game (which is a good part of what Wilson did last year). Those cynics expect "SportsCenter" moments on every other possession, along with numbers that keep fantasy football fans giddy from week to week.

If Wilson wants some advice on that, he can look to Carolina's Cam Newton. Newton followed an amazing rookie season -- easily the best individual performance by a first-year quarterback until Luck, RG III and Wilson thrived last year -- with a solid second campaign. The only problem was that few people were raving about him as they did in 2011. He had set the bar so high in his first year that it was difficult for people to appreciate what he was doing in 2012.

Wilson easily could face a similar predicament in Seattle. For all his promise, he wasn't carrying that team last season in the same way RG III and Luck led their franchises. Wilson didn't throw for more than 300 yards until Seattle's playoff loss to Atlanta, and, including the postseason, he had 10 games in which he threw for fewer than 200. Wilson was a revelation early mainly because he wasn't a total disaster. He was a feel-good story most people outside of the Pacific Northwest didn't even see coming this past fall.

The question Wilson will face this season is how he'll cope when defenses force him to win more games on his own talents. The benefit he has is a full offseason of working as the team's top signal-caller after he spent last year's training camp competing for the job. The disadvantage is that every opposing defensive coordinator on the Seahawks' schedule has had a year to prepare for him, as well. They will know whatever flaws didn't emerge in the way Seattle handled him last year. They will be waiting to exploit them every time he lines up under center.

The good news here is that neither laziness nor lack of preparation will be Wilson's undoing. Even the notion of relaxing in the weeks leading up to training camp seemed strange to him. "I'll rest later," Wilson said. "You guys have to remember that I played two sports most of my life [football and baseball]. It's one of those things where I've never had a break before this past offseason. I like to have a lot of things on my plate."

It will be wise for Wilson to maintain that approach because flying under the radar will never be part of his NFL experience again. The Seahawks will be a trendy Super Bowl pick, and the collective ascension of so many young quarterbacks means there will be more comparisons in the coming years. Instead of being cherished for being a pleasant surprise, Wilson will be judged by how he measures up to the progress of Luck, Griffin, Kaepernick and Newton. Winning alone might not be enough to satisfy his critics anymore.

What we can't see yet is how far his skills might take him. He could be merely a more dynamic version of Alex Smith, the second coming of Matt Hasselbeck or even another Tom Brady, who went from being a skilled game manager in his early years to an icon in the second half of his career. People tend to forget that when they rave about New England's star quarterback. He was successful largely because of all the talent surrounding him -- and the approach of his coaches -- at the start of his run.

Wilson clearly won't have the luxury of blossoming with the same ease. Bigger things will be expected from him from the moment this season kicks off, and he's about to learn even more valuable lessons about playing quarterback in the NFL. The most important is that becoming a star is a process that produces plenty of joy, thrills and immense anticipation. Being one, especially at the position he plays, brings an entirely different set of challenges.

At QB...we'll start with Russell Wilson and RGIII. Both posted great QB Ratings as rookies. I decided to look back through the history of the game to see how many rookie QBs have posted 90+ QB Ratings AND started at least 8 games. Here is the list in no order:
1. RGIII
2. Russell Wilson
3. Ben Roethlisberger
4. Y.A. Tittle
5. Dan Marino
6. Otto Graham

I think it is obvious to conclude that there are no flukes in here. If you post a 90+ QBR as a rookie starter, it is reasonable to expect you to go onto a strong career and it is reasonable to not have to wait to rank a player highly. We will see in coming years if this bench-mark changes.

_________________

DCRED wrote:

Your dialogue was amazing and your facts presented were Stellar.
You give yourself and your team's forum great Honor.

At QB...we'll start with Russell Wilson and RGIII. Both posted great QB Ratings as rookies. I decided to look back through the history of the game to see how many rookie QBs have posted 90+ QB Ratings AND started at least 8 games. Here is the list in no order:
1. RGIII
2. Russell Wilson
3. Ben Roethlisberger
4. Y.A. Tittle
5. Dan Marino
6. Otto Graham

I think it is obvious to conclude that there are no flukes in here. If you post a 90+ QBR as a rookie starter, it is reasonable to expect you to go onto a strong career and it is reasonable to not have to wait to rank a player highly. We will see in coming years if this bench-mark changes.

Looking forward to seeing what Pete can do with a whole year of game planning with Wilson. I don't remember which Sports talk show or Podcast I heard it on but somebody was asked about 2nd year players and how to avoid the sophomore slump. They said players struggle in year 2 because opposing defenses get a full year of tape to gameplan against you. So you (the QB & coach) have to watch the same tape and be able to see what they see, see the tendencies, strengths and weaknesses and then continue to evolve as a player. You can't just go into Year 2 expecting to do the same thing and have the same success. I think that's why some guys struggle, it's because they think they've arrived and they are successful and that's it.

I think Wilson is smart enough and having Harvin on the squad makes the offense that much different from last years that Wilson won't have any trouble. It'd be interesting to see which of those guys on that list struggled in year 2 - I know Big Ben had a great year 2. I don't think the QBR is a great stat but it's certainly a good list to be a part of.